1. Field
The present invention relates to a cooking apparatus, and, more particularly, to a cooking apparatus that cooks food using a blowing fan.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a conventional convection-type cooking apparatus includes a heater energized to emit heat, an oven cavity in which food is cooked by heat emitted from the heater, a blowing fan mounted in the oven cavity to circulate air in the oven cavity by convection, convection inlet holes mounted at a rear of the cavity to suction the air circulated by the rotation of the blowing fan, convection outlet holes mounted at the rear of the cavity to discharge the air circulated by the rotation of the blowing fan, and a plurality of trays mounted in the oven cavity to allow food to be placed thereon.
When a user puts food in the oven cavity and inputs a cooking command, the blowing fan is driven to suction air from the oven cavity, the suctioned air is heated by the heater, and the heated air is discharged into the oven cavity. In this way, air is forcibly circulated in the conventional cooking apparatus. During the circulation of the air, the food is in continuous contact with high-temperature air, with the result that heat is transmitted to the food, and therefore, the food is cooked by the heat.
However, the conventional cooking apparatus has a single oven cavity. As a result, even when it is necessary to cook a small amount of food, the entire oven cavity is heated. Consequently, a cooking time and power consumption are increased.
In order to solve the problem, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2006-44217 discloses an electric oven constructed in a structure in which a cooking chamber is divided into upper and lower cooking chambers by a partition, such that the upper and lower cooking chambers are selectively used, thereby reducing the cooking time and power consumption.
Specifically, the disclosed electric oven includes an oven body having a cooking chamber defined therein, a door to open and close the cooking chamber, a heater unit mounted in the oven body to heat the cooking chamber, a partition detachably mounted in the cooking chamber to divide the cooking chamber into a first cooking chamber and a second cooking chamber, a mode selection unit to select a single cooking mode in which food is cooked in the cooking chamber while the partition is separated from the cooking chamber and a double cooking mode in which food is cooked in the cooking chamber while the partition is mounted in the cooking chamber, and a control unit to control the mode selection unit to select the single cooking mode or the double cooking mode based on a determination as to whether the partition is mounted in or separated from the cooking chamber.
However, the oven is constructed in a structure in which the cooking chambers are selectively heated. Consequently, it is necessary to mount a heater and a blowing fan in each of the first and second cooking chambers that are divided by the partition when the partition is mounted within the oven body. Also, it is required that various components, such as a sensor to sense whether the partition is mounted in or separated from the cooking chamber, be electrically connected and controlled. Furthermore, it is required that the mode selection unit be divided into mode selection units corresponding to the single cooking mode and the double cooking mode. As a result, the structure and control of the oven are complicated, and the manufacturing costs of the oven are increased.
According to the conventional art disclosed in the Publication, when it is necessary to selectively supply heated air into one of the first and second cooking chambers, an on/off operation of the blowing fan or an on/off operation of the heater must be performed in order to interrupt a supply of the heated air into the other cooking chamber. The frequent on/off operation of the heater and the blowing fan shortens the life span of the components constituting the oven.